Rebecca was barren for some 20 years after she married Isaac. Remember, Isaac was the son of promise through him the promise of God to Abraham would be fulfilled and yet, once again barrenness had come into play. Then, when Rebecca does conceive, a war takes place within her womb that causes her to despair for her life.

Often the fulfillment of the plan of God will cause a battle within us.

She is the first woman in the Bible that is recorded that enquired of the Lord. She was in tremendous pain because within her a battle raged that had great consequence of what God had promised Abraham. Her making it through this battle and bringing forth the promise of a next-generation was paramount to the storyline of the Messiah!

Rebecca’s life is filled with what seems like schemes, deceptions, trickery, etc but I don’t think it is that simple. Most of what I see written about her or messages I have heard preached paint her as a pretty deceptive lady. I have come to think differently of her.

The story of Rebecca shows us several things. One is that God’s plan is sometimes beyond our understanding and unfolds in ways that we can’t completely see. The Bible does not flinch from showing us the complexity of human nature. Rebecca certainly used deceit or trickery when dealing with her husband and it would certainly seem she betrayed her older son. It is clear that all the members of the family are less than perfect.

You may not always understand why God is doing something but you can always trust His intentions.

God had made a promise to Abraham and He intended to keep it. We see God’s plan as it gradually unfolds and Rebecca definitely had a part to plan in it. She sought the Lord from the beginning of the battle in her womb and we can trust that she was endeavoring to do what was needed in the fulfillment of the plan of God.

God always keeps His promises.

Things in life aren’t always as cut and dry as we would like them to be. And sometimes things really don’t make sense. The things we deal with in life are often more complex than we want to admit. And often dualistic thinking will not help us. We have to see and understand that God’s ways are higher than ours. God will fulfill all that He has promised to us and spoken over us.

Joshua said this at the end of his life:

When I look at Rebecca’s life, I realize that what looks to us like scheming might have simply been her following what God had placed in her heart to do in order that His will was not adverted by a man. God used women several times in the Bible to advert men making huge mistakes or messing things up.

Much like Rebecca’s life, this is such a difficult statement, because it simply doesn’t add up to what we believe and know about God. How can he choose to love one brother and hate the other?

hate: 3404 miséō – properly, to detest (on a comparative basis); hence, denounce; to love someone or something less than someone (something) else, i.e. to renounce one choice in favor of another.

This hate is not what we consider hate or hatred today but rather is to prefer one over the other. It is to renounce one choice in favor of another and, in this case, one brother over another. It seems to me God chooses one brother over the other because HE sees the hearts of men and not just the outward actions. He knows what is really in our hearts and because He sees hearts sometimes His choice might not make sense to us.

I believe we can learn from Rebecca’s story that we can have faults, struggles, and issues but God can still accomplish His purpose in our lives.